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A Toronto-based manufacturer of fasteners, Leland Industries Inc. says it is opening its new manufacturing facility in the United States because rising energy costs have made Ontario uncompetitive for investment.

 CEO Byron Nelson says the company plans a major expansion in production capacity in Illinois. Nelson said Ontario has already lost a lot of manufacturers and will lose more because those in government “just do not understand.”

 Ontario Economic Development and Growth Minister Brad Duguid said in an email that the government recognizes that it has more work to do, “especially when it comes to controlling the costs related to upgrading our energy infrastructure.” Duguid also noted that the government will be lowering electricity costs for small and medium sized businesses by eight per cent starting Jan. 1, but Jocelyn Williams Bamford — vice president of Automatic Coating Limited and spokeswoman for the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers in Ontario- said that “won’t come close to offsetting the energy and transportation cost increases that lie in store for smaller manufacturers across Ontario.”

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